


Catch and Kiss

by lillypillylies



Category: Leverage
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-10
Updated: 2015-04-10
Packaged: 2018-03-22 06:04:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3717901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lillypillylies/pseuds/lillypillylies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Nate practices the subtle art of the booty call. Badly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Catch and Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> Set early season four, somewhere between Hot Potato Job and The Boiler Room Job.

When her phone rang, Sophie paused on her way up the stairs to dig in her purse. She noted the caller before answering with a warm, "Hello."

"Hi, Soph. Uh, hey."

"Nate." She leaned there against the banister, in no particular hurry to continue on to her destination just now. "And how are you this evening?"

"Good, I'm good."

There was a long pause. Sophie waited, but there was only silence on his end. "Nate? You called me."

"Yeah, no, I know. So, ah..." He trailed off. More silence. 

Sophie held back a sigh, waiting. 

It was still fairly new, this thing they were doing. 

Nate still wasn't quite comfortable with it - or with talking about it, at least. He didn't have any trouble making things happen when they were alone together - he could be quite smooth, in fact. Of course, if there was one thing Nate had never had a problem with, it was confidence. Expressing himself, however? That was an entirely different matter.

She cleared her throat, a subtle hint for him to get on with it. Thankfully, he did. Sort of.

"I was just, you know, uh, I was just thinking, uh, wondering... if... if..."

Honestly, sometimes, it could be downright painful.

"Yes?" she said.

Just because he was floundering, didn't mean she was going to help him out. If the prospect of her naked in his bed didn't provide sufficient incentive for the man to use his words, nothing would.

Finally, the words came. "Uh..." he said. "So, what - what are your plans tonight? You - you gonna come over?"

She almost felt like applauding, but resisted the urge - a bit cruel. 

On the other hand, so was this: "Oh, I don't know. I hadn't really decided yet."

"Really."

"Did you want me," she paused, biting back her smile so he wouldn't hear it in her voice, "to come over?"

"Well, no."

She blinked at that. "Did you say _no?_ "

"No! I - no, no, no, I didn't mean _no_ , I just uh, no, you know, I - I -"

She rolled her eyes. She could strangle him with her bare hands sometimes. Seriously, did she have to do _everything?_

"Nate. How drunk are you right now?" she said, as she finally pushed away from the railing and began moving slowly again up the stairs.

"No, I'm not - I just meant that... that if you wanted to, you know, come over, then that - that would be fine."

"Oh, it would be fine, would it?"

"If you wanted to."

"But you have no preference either way."

"Well, you know, whatever."

"And that's what you're going with, huh? Whatever?"

There was no reply, and she imagined he was at that moment replaying the exchange over in his head and possibly realising what an idiot he was being.

It was Nate, though, so just in case he wasn't clear, she hung up on him.

About ten seconds later, as she came out of the stairwell into the hallway, her phone rang again, and she paused again there to answer.

"I think it would be a great idea if you came over," he said, clearly and succinctly, as soon as the call connected.

"There. Now, was that so hard?"

She could practically hear him rolling his eyes. "Maybe you could give me a break. A little one."

"Oh, Nate." She tutted and heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Sometimes it's like you don't know me at all."

"Yeah, yeah. You coming or not?"

"Hm. After all this, you're really going to have to make it worth my while."

There was a distinct smirk in his voice as he said, "I think I can manage that."

There was that confidence rearing its head. She wished she didn't find it so attractive but, well, that ship had long since sailed.

Still, there was no need to encourage him. "We'll see," she said, as she began strolling at a leisurely pace along the corridor. "I hope you at least made me dinner."

"There's leftover pizza in the fridge. I think Eliot left some beer in there."

"Pizza and beer - that's your best offer?"

"Or there's scotch."

"Already open, I assume. Come on, Nate, I thought you were trying here."

"You know, you like to pretend like you're not a pizza and beer kind of girl but you forget I do know you, Sophie."

Actually, pizza and beer did sound quite good - so she had a tiny bit of a weakness for junk food. So what? Everyone liked pizza, anyway. And Eliot had good taste in beer, not the usual American rubbish. 

She heard him laugh softly as she took a moment too long to reply. Smug bastard. This would never do. 

"Well then," she said, "you know me so well, you should know exactly how I'm going to respond to being called a cheap date."

"Okay, wait, I didn't -"

"Have a nice evening."

She hung up again. Then she waited, just long enough for him to really regret the entire conversation, and start to consider calling her back again.

Then she opened the door in front of her and went in, just as her phone started to ring.

He was pacing in the middle of the apartment with his phone to his ear, but spun around at the sound of the front door opening. The surprise on his face quickly switched to a combination of pleased and annoyed when he saw it was her.

"I knew you were out there," he said.

She waved her still-trilling phone and he rolled his eyes and shoved his own phone back in his pocket. Then he headed to the kitchen counter where there was an open bottle and a glass waiting.

With a laugh, she followed, leaving her purse on the table and her jacket over the back of a chair. When she reached his side he shifted, making room for her in his space even as he frowned down at his glass in chagrin.

"So what was that, you have fun at my expense, hm?"

"Oh yes. One of my favourite pastimes." He had yet to drink, and she took the glass from his hand and took a sip, enjoying the pleasant burn as well as the way his eyes followed her every movement. She licked the traces of scotch from her lips, drawing his gaze to her mouth. She leaned in a little closer as she placed the glass back down. "Next time, just tell me you want me to come over."

His arm moved around her back, his hand sliding over her hip. "Or, you could just assume I want you to come over and, you know, come over. It would be a safe assumption."

"Convenient how that means less effort for you."

"Hey, you were already here, so you knew -"

"Nate," she turned into him and laid a hand on his chest, forestalling whatever logical argument he was about to make, "sometimes a girl likes to be asked."

Both his hands were on her hips now as he looked down at her, a smile playing about his lips. "Here I thought I was done chasing you."

"Where's the fun in that?"

"I don't know, this part's pretty fun, too." 

He leaned down to kiss her, and she smiled against his lips as she slid her hands up his chest and around his neck. She opened her mouth and met his tongue with her own, pressing closer as his hands tightened on her waist. He was right about this, at least; the games were all well and good but she didn't want to play now. She just wanted him. God forbid he ever figure out how much.

Although, the man had called her no less than three times in the space of five minutes in increasingly desperate attempts to secure her company for the evening; perhaps he could relate.

It was a pleasant thought, matched with the way he turned them to push her back against the counter as he pressed kisses under her jaw and down her throat. She slid her fingers into his hair, her mouth dropping open as he tongued her pulse point and his hands cupped her ass and brought her hips up against his.

"I think it would be a great idea if you came upstairs with me right now," he said in a low, rather sexy voice against her neck. "See? Asking."

"Oh, not right now. No, I'm sure I was promised pizza and beer first."

He froze, then drew away to stare at her and the deeply perturbed look on his face made her snort with laughter. 

Alright, so playing with him was quite impossible to resist.

She took his momentary confusion as her chance to slip out of his embrace and head for the stairs. "You're just so easy," she tossed back over her shoulder, and then quickened her pace because he was after her then.

She laughed as she took the stairs, with him hot on her heels. She did so love to be chased. And it was even more fun to be caught.


End file.
